AN Aberystwyth company has crossed the pond and opened a new office in America.

Aber Instruments, based on the Science park, has opened its first overseas office in Alexandria, Virginia, USA, around 15 minutes from Washington DC.

After years of renting local offices the company decided they needed a permanent base to work out of.

The building was dated and needed a complete renovation which took several months.

Sean Kenny, from Capel Bangor was tasked with overseeing the renovation project, not an easy task when you are based in Aberystwyth and liaising with architects and construction companies across the pond. And getting to grips with all the differences in rules and regulations around building work.

Last month a small team from the UK flew over to mark the project completion and to join the US team in celebrating the official opening of their new building.

A spokesperson said: “This is a massive milestone for a company that first started out in 1988 from a wooden shed in CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology).

“The team carried over 'carefully' a beautiful Welsh Slate plaque made by James memorials (Llandre), which you can see hung on the wall outside the main entrance.”